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Alva
Alva is the closest planet to Nova Kirbani A. It is a harsh desert world devoid of life. In-game Description "Being so close to Nova Kirbani A, Alva receives more than its fair share of radiation from the star. Scientists believe that Alva may have once been much more Kerbin-like in the past, but eventually got too close to Nova Kirbani A to keep its oceans liquid. It now sits as a hostile desert world that will give a glimpse into the distant future of Kerbin." Physical Characteristics Alva is the closest and hottest planet orbiting Nova Kirbani A. The entire surface is covered in a vast desert, much of which is uninhabitable to kerbals by any means. The majority of the planet's surface is covered in a vast, sandy desert. The terrain of the desert is largely driven by strong winds that cut across Alva constantly. Due to Alva’s slow rotation, it leads to a large temperature difference on the day and night sides. This leads to a constant series of winds blowing across the desert, creating large dunes in the sand, some being the size of small mountains. Alva’s deserts are made mostly of sand, but also have a high concentration of salt embedded within as well, likely once salt dissolved in Alva’s old ocean. Alva’s wind currents are also driven by the relationship between the desert and the continental plateaus. The altitude difference means the plateaus are generally cooler than the surface, leading to a few currents being constantly driven by the heat difference. The plateaus can also block desert currents, similar to the way continents on Kerbin will block ocean currents. Most of Alva’s wind currents can be traced by looking at the direction of the sand dunes. The plateaus are what scientists believe to have once been remains of old continents when Alva was more temperate and had seas of water. The plateaus are most easily recognizable by the darker color and high altitude. Unlike the deserts, which are filled with fine grains of sand and dunes, the plateaus are much more rocky. Many areas of the plateaus also exhibit features indicative of past lakes and rivers of water, as well. Alva’s most prominent feature is the massive canyon that sits within its desert. While there is a large debate as to where the canyon originated, the prevailing theory is that the canyon was originally formed as an ocean trench (as a result of tectonic drift), and as Alva’s seas receded, it became a deposit for water, which eroded off the deserts and into the canyon. Eventually, the canyon has dried up like the rest of Alva, but the evidence still remains. Atmosphere and Climate The planet is in the process of having its atmosphere stripped away by Nova Kirbani A. The planet’s small size means it lacks a sizeable magnetosphere, preventing any protection from NK-A’s harsh solar wind. This has led to Alva’s atmosphere being slowly stripped over time. The atmosphere is composed primarily of carbon dioxide, with a significant but smaller amount of nitrogen. Near the lower elevations, heavier gases are more prominent as well. Alva’s climate is driven by both its proximity to NK-A and its plateaus. The planet is so close to NK-A that the day side is heated immensely, but the slow rotation means that Alva’s night side gets much colder than the day side. This creates strong winds that form Alva’s sand dunes. Temperature differences among the plateaus and dunes also create and disrupt winds, as well, but the nature of how they interact is not very well understood. Possibilities of Life There is a current debate among the scientific community as to whether or not Alva has been able to support life in the past, when it was much more Kerbin-like. Similar to the debate over life on Duna, optimists claim that Alva could have evolved primitive bacteria life around the same time as Blalo, but as the planet heated up and vaporized, the bacteria died with it. More pessimistic scientists claim that Alva could not have possibly been habitable long enough to allow for life to evolve without having to evolve rapidly. Visiting Alva and sampling it directly is the only sure-fire way to see if the planet was once habitable. Biomes * Desert * Ancient Continental Lowlands * Ancient Continental Midlands * Ancient Continental Highlands * Mountaints * Dried Up Rivers * Dried Up Lakes * Canyon * Canyon Floor * Impact Lake * Desert Impact Site Category:Nova Kirbani System Category:Planet Category:Exoplanet